The contract is for a Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis registry (CLEAR) which serves to identify genetic and non-genetic prognostic factors of disease outcome using radiographic presence of bony erosions as the primary outcome measure (at 3 years disease duration). The registry (400 completers) will serve as the basis for prospective analyses of factors predictive of the clinical phenotype and outcomes. Four major academic medical centers in the southeast U.S. will gather data which will provide a resource for investigators interested in the genetics of RA in African Americans.